Go by your govt’s stand on Taiwan: China's diktat to Indian media

'Get Lost,' Taiwan reacts to China’s letter to media in India

India’s media should stick to its government’s “One-China” principle and refrain from referring to Taiwan as a country or a nation, the Embassy of People’s Republic of China in New Delhi demanded on Wednesday.

“We hope Indian media can stick to Indian government's position on Taiwan question and do not violate the One-China principle,” the press section of the communist country’s embassy in New Delhi wrote in a letter emailed to journalists.

China, which has all its media outlets controlled by its communist party, has issued the advisory to the journalists in India ahead of the National Day of Taiwan on October 10. “In particular, Taiwan shall not be referred to as a ‘country (nation)’ or ‘Republic of China’ or the leader of China’s Taiwan region as ‘President’, so as not to send the wrong signals to the general public,” the embassy of the communist country wrote in its letter.

“India is the largest democracy on (the) earth with a vibrant press & (and) freedom-loving people. But it looks like communist China is hoping to march into the subcontinent by imposing censorship. Taiwan’s Indian friends will have one reply: GET LOST!” Joseph Wu, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister, posted on Twitter, reacting to the diktat issued by the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi to the media in India.

The “One-China” policy recognises only the People's Republic of China, which came into existence in 1949 after the communists defeated the nationalists in the civil war of China. It does not recognise the existence of Taiwan (or the Republic of China), where the nationalists retreated to and based the seat of their government after losing to the communists.

India, like most of the other nations, has been adhering to One-China policy since 1949, recognising only the People's Republic of China. India does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. India-Taipei Association, which is headed by a diplomat, functions as a de facto mission of India in Taipei. Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre (TECC) in New Delhi is the de facto diplomatic and consular mission of Taiwan in India.

China’s recent moves to unilaterally change the status quo along its disputed boundary with India and the five-month-long military stand-off between the two sides, however, triggered calls to New Delhi to review its policy on Taiwan to send out a message to the communist country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, however, is yet to take any such decision.

Taiwan celebrates its National Day on October 10 every year, commemorating the start of the Wuchang Uprising on this day in 1911. The uprising had led to the end of the Qing Dynasty in China and the establishment of the Republic of China on January 1, 1912.

“There is only one China in the world and the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing the whole of China,” the embassy of the communist country in New Delhi sought to “remind” the media in India, in view of the forthcoming National Day of Taiwan. “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory,” it added.

New Delhi had earlier reaffirmed its One-China policy in all its joint statements with Beijing. But it had not done so for eight years since 2010 — in response to the communist country's policy of issuing “stapled visas to the residents of Jammu and Kashmir, instead of normal visas pasted on passports issued by the Government of India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, however, had in July 2018 virtually re-asserted its adherence to “One-China policy” and made Air India to change “Taiwan” with “Chinese Taipei” in the list of destinations on its website. Taiwan had strongly reacted, stating that the move by Air India could be seen as a “gesture” by India “of succumbing to the unreasonable and absurd pressure from China”.